Method of making a golf ball



June 8, 1937. l c. w. I EGUILLON` 2,083,155

METHOD OF MAKING A GOLF BALL Filed NOV. 1Q, 1934 PatentedJ `lune 9193'?4 A ss 'e en rrr] .Marano or MAG a GoIQFBALr.

' Charles W. Leguillon,

Akron, Ohio, assignor to 'lihe B. 1F. Goodrich Company, New York Y.,

This invention relates to balls, such as golf balls, having as componentlparts an inner envelope containing a liquid, semi-liquid or mobilesubstance, a. tense winding of rubber thread thereon and, in the oaseof-golf balls, a. cover layer of a material' comprising gutta percha,l

balata or the likev molded winding.

Heretofore on the rubber-thread sion as Well as to increase thetensionof the Winding, but difficulty has been encountered in preventingescape of the mobile material from the inner envelope through theaperture made 0 thereinv by-the needle.

,stantial volume ofpocketed air within vthe inner envelope also has.been a matter-of some concern as operating .against perfect `balanceand` proper performance of such balls.

g5 'I'he chier objects of my invention areI to over`v come these severaldefects and disadvantages, 4which I do by usinga liquid dispersion ofrub-. ber, such as'natural or'articial latex, which may be preliminarilyconcentrated to give it a high 0` content of solids, and which may have'Vulcanialng agents mixed into it, aS the mobile substance within theinnerenvelopc, or at least as the sub-l stance to' be injected into theenvelope by means of the eedle', and preferably by providing forcoagula'tion of the rubber dispersion at least in the vicinltyof theneedle sealing the aperture.

Suitable apparatus for the practice of my invention is shown in theaccompanying drawing, Ofswhlch "v Fig. 1 isa longitudinal section of aball-holding device and a ball therein. Fig. 2 is a vertical lsection ofa device adapted for the injection oi a rubber-coagulant into the ball,with the holder and ball of Fig. 1 associated therewith.

" Fig. 3 is av vertical section of the ball-holding device and balltherein in association with parts of a device similar to thatnof Fig. 2but` ad ted Iorithe injection of a liquid dispersionof ru ber into thecoreI of the ball,

Referring to the drawing, the ball-holder -comprises a cup-shaped memberII) formed with a breather aperture II- through xits bottom wall,

stop-collar I2 secured in proper position on its The presence of a sub-laperture, foreiectively exterior by a set-screw I3fav block ting Withinthe I loosely fitcup-shaped member i9, formed with a conical recess inone end adapted for the reception of the ball, designated I5, andadapted to abut the bottom of the cup-shaped member l0 at its other end,and provided centrally of the conical recess with a positioning pin I6adapted to extend into 'a ball impaled upon it "as shown, but not toex'- tend so far into the ball as to puncture the ilexfible wall, Il',of the core of the ball.. able material which is in the core at the timethewindings are applied Fig'. 2. f Y l v For retaining the impaled balland the loosely fitting block I4 in the cup-shaped member While theassembly is being manipulated, as in beingl inserted in and removed fromthe devices of Figs. '2 and 3, a screw plug I9 formed w'ith'spannervholes 20,20 and with an external stop-flange 2 I of less outer diameterl of the cup-shaped'member I0 is adapted to be screwe'd into the end .ofthe member III and is formed with a conical recess` in its inner facethe wall -ofvwhich is adapted to be engaged bythe 25 thereto is shown atI 8f than the outer diameter ball when by the injection of liquid theball has been \enlarged to ax `I4 and the plug I9 determinate size; theblock being determinately spaced `With relation to' each otherby theirengagement with thecup-shaped member I0.

. Y o0 'I'he plug I9 is centrally formed with anaperture 22 for theadmissionv of the injecting needle. 'I'he injecting device oi Fig. 2comprises a base 23- formed on its upper side with a `well .for a iluid24 such as watersupplied -to it under pressure through a pipe the oor ofthe base.

A flexible diaphragm 21 is clamped throughout its margin between the.base and' a magazine member 28 heldy tol the base'by bolts 29, 29 andlformed, over the diaphragm, with a chamber for a body ofrubber-coagulant 30. d is in communication with the bore of a hypo ermicneedle 3| mounted in a nipple 32 screwed upona projection formed on themember 28, the needle being in position to punch through the wall oi theball to the interior of the core when the holder of- Fig. lwith 'theball`therein is forced down into a guide member 33 screwed onto a bossformed on the member 28, the point of the needle being just within theinterior ofthe core when the stop-collar I2 on the holder abuts the topof the guide member '33', asshown in Fig. `2, and the weight ofthe balland of the block I4 being supported by the frlctional engagement of theThis chamber V l s material of the ball with the injection needle, theball as shown in Fig. 2 being not yet expanded by injection andconsequently being out of contact' with the conical face of the plug I9.5 i The member 28 is provided with a filler aperture adapted to beclosed by a screw 34, for the introduction ofthe rubber-coagulant 30into the chamber,` and an aperture adapted to be closed by a screw 35 isprovided in the base member 22 for venting air from the chamber thereinas the water 24 is initially conducted into the chamber, to avoid thepoorly-controlled squirting eiiect that would result from the presenceof an entrapped elastic substance such as air. The apparatus which ispartially shown in Fig. 3 is the same as that shown in Fig. 2 exceptthat the magazine chamber is filled with a liquid dispersion of rubber,36, instead of thev coagulant 30 of Fig. 2. I

In-the practice of my method with the apparatus illustrated the ball.comprising the envelope containing the il'owable material I8, which maybe any of the substances usually employed for that purpose or may be aconcentrated nat- 25 ural latex or other dispersion of rubber, and maybe loaded with a weighting material, is mounted in the holding devicesas' shown in Fig. 1 andthe assembly istthen forced down in the guidemember I3 of Fig. 2 until the parts are in the relative positions thereshown, with 'the point/of the injection needle just within, or almostWithin, the interior of the core.

Some of thecoagulant 30 may then be injected into the interior of thecore; so that the 3J flowablefsubstance already therein, or the mixture,is given coagulating properties, or the coagulant may be injected onlyinto the aperture which is formed by the needle in the material of thewall of the core or in the rubber of the windings, or both, bymaintaining the pressure on. the coagulant, through the diaphragm 21,

while the needle is being withdrawn from the ball by removing the holderassembly from the guide member 32.

The holder assembly is then transferred to the apparatus of Fig. 3 andsimilar procedure is 'em= ployed for injecting into the core, throughthe same needle-hole,1a' sufiicient amount of the rubber dispersion 38to distend the ball to such size as is permitted, with a given pressureupon the dispersion, by the space denned by the block `M and plug I9.

The holder assembly is then removed from the injection device, the plugI9 is removed from the member Il, whereupon the block I4 and ball i aredropped out of the member i0 and the ball,

then readily grasped, is removed from the block il and its pin I6.

As the needle hole substantially closes by reason of th'e resilience ofthe material as the ball is withdrawn from the injection device of Fig.2 substantially none of the coagulant or of 'the ilowable materialoriginally in the core escapes in the small time required for mountingthe holder assembly in the injecting device of Fig. 3, and as4 it iswithdrawn from the latter the presenceof causes such ,coagulation of therubber of the dispersion as permanently to seal the needle hole.

I claim:

The method of making a ball which comprisesl winding rubber thread undertension upon a liquid i'llled envelope constituting a core, thereafterapplying a coagulant internally of the structure in the vicinity of thewall of the core, and then injecting a liquid dispersion of rubberinto'the core and eifecting coagulation thereof in the vicinity of vtheinjection aperture in the wall of the core by .reason of the presence ofthe said coagulant. J

CHARLES W. LEGUILLON.

the coaguiant within the bau

